Today my husband would have been 39. I miss him every day. And despite what people say time doesn’t heal all wounds. There is no set way to grieve, no timetable that everyone can consult.
I am lucky–all I have to do is look at my daughters and I Can see him. It’s in an expression and their enormous generosity of spirit… And in the way they care for all those around them.
I am a lucky woman. I had a relationship with him that made me better than I was. And together we were more than the sum of our parts… But the problem with that is that now that I am alone I am less than I was before we started… But for a time I touched happiness and if I hold on just a little bit longer perhaps my story will change…
So, here’s the thing. I am a reader. And with the advent of new technology, I can have my phone read to me while I do a gazillion other things…So, due to the fact that I had a speed reading class in high school and …well I consume books. And quickly. It makes Tuesdays my favorite day. And I have a lot of series I follow. So Karen Chance is one among the many for me. And at first I was Seriously mad at the delays and changing publication dates.
But in the last year, I have come to realize that my book’s are a coping mechanism. They give me something to hold on to. Something to talk about. Something to occupy the 60% of my brain that keeps screaming this can’t be my life. And to let me be somewhat calm, and positive. At least I’m not being chased by monsters, only creditors! And yes, I am a widow with two beautiful teenage daughters. Which means that I am scared to bring any man home because I am very careful about my blue eyed, blonde haired beautiful brilliant children are exposed to. And I had a great husband which means I am not willing to settle for anything else. So I read a lot of very explicit series cause that’s my only sexual release.
So I read Laurell K Hamilton and lots of others. But here’s the thing. We have to support our authors. The publishing business is hard. And they create these amazing worlds and characters we all.love. And for them the creation process is amazingly complex with first drafts and then edit after edit. Some people get really nasty about these amazing works of creation. And I understand that, too. I love the main characters in my books. They are like friends who I visit with every time I read the book. And I hate some of the things that happen. In a way even the violently negative feedback is a compliment to the author. But why should they keep spending 6-8 hours a day writing for us if we just bitch about it. Why do the work of edit after edit?
I am making a stand. Laurell K Hamilton won’t publish when her next book will be out or which series it will be. Why should she? Her fans will wail and whimper. If she just publishes it and tells us after the last draft is finalized, she gets to bypass all the people mad when she misses a date! And poor Karen Chance, who keeps trying to put out book 8-but the book is too long for paperback. And then there’s the other stuff she writes. Freebie’s that are hard work for her but taken as though they are due to the readers. Ever since Karen published Book 7, with delays, she has been working hard to give us a good book 8. And what do the readers do? Some of us go back and reread. Look for all the nuances we keep missing in the race to find out what happened. And then another group gets vocal-and trashes Karen Chance for missing publicized release dates. Rather than doing that, I’m doing the opposite.
I am going to support my favorite authors. I don’t care how long I have to wait for the next installment. I’m going to send them messages, asking questions about the books I have. I’m going to reread, and laugh and cry and scream and yell. I’m going to write new reviews, new FAQs, new posts. I’m going to do whatever the hell I can to make sure I get to know how the stories end. I will write petitions. I will beg, plead and cajole. I will help the next Kit Colbana book be made by sending money on Patreon. And I will appreciate the freebies, the alternate POV, the deleted scenes. I am doubly supportive of the authors I love who have prepublished schedules and put out surprise books too! I love Jenna Black and Lauren Dane and Seanan Mcguire and Kelley Armstrong and Christine Feehan. But I will keep on supporting everyone…
